Exclusive: Steve Jobs Will Return, But Not For Long, Says Silicon Valley Psychic
12:41 pm, May 15th, 2009, Leander Kahney
Like everyone else, I’m dying to know if Steve Jobs will be returning to work at the end of June.
Since I haven’t got a clue, and neither does anyone else, I figured I’d ask someone who might know. Not the usual blowhard pundits, but Barbara Courtney, a corporate psychic known as the “Seer of Silicon Valley.”
Personally, I’m very skeptical of psychic predictions, but Courtney has a long and storied history as Silicon Valley’s leading clairvoyant. Indeed, she’s the only person on record who correctly predicted Steve Jobs’ return to Apple back in 1997.
Speaking by phone from her home in Redwood City, Courtney said Jobs will return to Apple in June as promised — but he won’t stay long.
“My feeling is he will come back,” said Courtney. “I’m not seeing June as too soon.”
Jobs took six months medical leave in January saying his ongoing medical problems were “more complex” than suspected and he needed time off work to concentrate on his health. The company has promised several times that Jobs will return in late June as planned, but many are pessimistic.
On Tuesday, hopes were further dashed when Apple said the WWDC keynote in early June will be given by a team of executives led by head marketer Phil Schiller. The slot has traditionally been Jobs’, and many hoped (and are still hoping) he’d put in a surprise appearance.
A “corporate psychic” for more than 30 years, Courtney claims to have consulted with scores of tech companies, including Apple, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sun Microsystems, and Motorola. She says politicians in local and federal government have also consulted her.
Charging more than $200 an hour, Courtney uses her “intuitive energy” to advise executives on all manner of personal and business decisions, from who to promote to the pricing of new products. She’s consulted for CEOs and programmers alike, she says.
When consulting with corporations, she’s known as a ‘vision consultant’ rather than a psychic. Psychic is a loaded term, even in flakey Northern California.
Courtney said Jobs would return to Apple for a relatively short period – certainly less than two years – while he manages handing over the reigns to his successor.
“There’s some transition, but that won’t be announced for a while,” Courtney said. “I feel that there’s another person that won’t surface right away.”
Who the mysterious other person is, Courtney didn’t say. Tim Cook, Apple’s COO, who is acting CEO in Jobs’ absence, is Jobs’ most likely successor.
Courtney predicted that Jobs might return in a different role than CEO.
“There may be a change of title or role,” she said. “However he returns, I feel he will try to keep his stress lower. He will begin to empower other people to take a more public role.”
“I think it won’t be for very long,” she continued. “Can I see him in that role in two years? That’s iffy.”
“He will put a brave face on it – ‘I’m back and ready to work,’ but he won’t stay in that role very long.”
Courtney then discussed Jobs’ health. She was reluctant to say it, but Jobs’ health issues aren’t resolved.
“I’m feeling that the health issues aren’t all settled,” she said. “I don’t like saying that because it’s negative. I don’t want to put a negative spin on things.”
There’s a few conflicting statements here, and a lot of it seems like common sense, but I was impressed with Courtney’s prophetic abilities when I interviewed her back in 1996. Asked her prophecies for MacWeek’s annual, end-of-year ‘predictions issue,’ Courtney correctly divined that Jobs would be returning to Apple in a few months. This at a time when Apple looked doomed, and Jobs was the last person on the planet anyone expected to see return to Apple.
Jobs had quit Apple 11 years previously and was busy running NeXT and Pixar, which was white hot thanks to the success of Toy Story.
In the article, Courtney said she saw a “shadowy figure from Apples past.”
“I wonder who it is that left early on that might be coming back to the company?” Courtney wondered in the article. “I don’t get a name, but it feels like [someone from] when Apple was the newest and hottest thing on the block, someone at a higher level will get re-involved again in the same capacity. It feels like someone is coming full circle.”
Woah – it sure wasn’t Steve Wozniak. Courtney also predicted the ouster of then-CEO Gil Amelio and his management team, and that Apple’s plunging stock would bounce back.
“I don’t see the team there now falling into place,” she said. “I don’t know who’s leaving, but I would say there will be a change in one of those positions.”
Amelio and other executives left in July, and Jobs was named interim CEO shortly afterward.
Courtney also advised holding onto Apple stock, which seemed cuckoo because it was tanking. “When people called me and said, Oh dear, I’ve got stock in Apple, I told them to hang on to it. … If I had more disposable income I would definitely buy stock in Apple,” Courtney said in the story.
Apple’s stock was $12 at the time. Since then it’s split twice and broke the $200 barrier in 2008.
Posted by Leander Kahney in News, Steve Jobs, Top stories | Comment on this article
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The only difference between “Psychics” and plain old scam artists is that some of them believe their own crap.
Don Pope, on May 15th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Really, this is your source? Pathetic.
Chris Peterson, on May 15th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
If she could use “more disposable income” she could try to get the $1,000,000 offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation to anyone that could prove a supernatural event occurred without a logical explanation.
Questionaire, on May 15th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Oh, for God’s sake!
Fred M., on May 15th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
[...] Courtney—the psychic known as the Seer of Silicon Valley—says Steve’ll return next month. So what? Well, this psychic is the only one on record that predicted his return in [...]
Psychic Says Steve Jobs Will Be Back, But Not for Long [Steve Jobs] | Shadhinota, on May 15th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Personally, I’m very skeptical about this claim that the earth is round.
And they’re not tricking me into going there to look — I’d probably
fall off the edge, and they’d get my money. Forget that mess.
Psychics, my foot. Just because some of them are right, we’re supposed
to start believing that stuff. Don’t confuse us with facts. We know better.
Sunny Guy
SunnyGuy53, on May 15th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Financial firms hire this kind of people. They call them analysts.
This is just the plain common sense I read in Gene Munster’s predictions (apart from the last one about the new iPhone in July)
Camillo Miller, on May 16th, 2009 at 12:32 am
[quote]
she’s the only person on record who correctly predicted Steve Jobs’ return to Apple back in 1997.
[/quote]
you mean she was the only person who “guessed” right, and can now ask $200,- an hour to lie to you,
cause all the gullible US citizens believe if you guess right and ask a load of money for talking fancy you must be telling the truth !
Absrnd, on May 16th, 2009 at 6:54 am
What A Load Of B/S; Only in Ca. Would someone actually believe this Weirdo.
Ha,Ha!!
Terry Henderson, on May 16th, 2009 at 7:40 am
LMAO!
klaf, on May 16th, 2009 at 10:18 am
[...] Courtney—the psychic known as the Seer of Silicon Valley—says Steve’ll return next month. So what? Well, this psychic is the only one on record that predicted his return in [...]
iModZone » Blog Archive » Psychic Says Steve Jobs Will Be Back, But Not for Long, on May 16th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Those of you who pooh pooh the extraordinary abilities of individuals such as Barbara Courtney, how many of you believed that Sadaam had WMDs, Mobile Bio Labs, and Yellow Cake? Of those who believed these pretexts to invade, which of you are still holding out the possibility that Blix, Bush’s man who actually believed he had them was wrong and that WMDs will turn up sooner or later, justifying your warmongering? No. Rational evidence refutes your long held belief. It’s just your belief, your faith, based on empty hope, not worthy of any scientific inquiry and rational discussion.
If you believed that Saddam Hussein had them, then you are likely complicit in Bush’s murders, making you morally and ethically guilty, a criminal.
Now, in contrast, a belief in Courtney’s ability is relatively harmless, and, after all, it does not make anyone an accessory to, warmongering, murder, and mayhem.
I suggest that you lighten up on the author of this fun article and on Courtney, as well as yourself, and confess your warmonger sins.
John Dingler, on May 16th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
“Just because some of them are right…”
Sarcasm aside, some of anything is right. This doesn’t prove that whatever was right, was psychic.
What method do you have to guard against the pure coincidence of a a thousand people guessing producing one person who happens to have guessed at lot right? You realise that mathematics dictates that this *will* happen even in the absence of psychic ability? What method of investigation do you have to prevent yourself from interpreting inevitable coincidence as evidence of ESP? Oh right, you want to believe, never mind…
DBL, on May 16th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
i’m sorry but anyone that watched as the stock price went down every time Steve coughed, farted or whatever and saw him pushing others onto the stage months ago can ‘forsee’ that he’s going to be less of a public figure — because he needs folks to see that there are other brains so if he dies tomorrow the company won’t burn.
Scott, on May 17th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Maybe yes or maybe no…
Paul, on May 18th, 2009 at 4:30 am
[...] Barbara Courtney, la sensitiva nota come La Profeta di Silicon Valley, ha detto che Steve torneràil mese prossimo. E quindi? Beh, questa sensitiva è l’unica che riuscì a prevedere il suo ritorno nel 1997. La donna ha dichiarato a Lander Kahney di Cult of Mac: “La mia sensazione è che tornerà”, ma “penso che non resteràper molto tempo“. Pensa che i problemi di salute di Mr. Jobs “non siano del tutto risolti” e che “non è sicuro” che resteràCEO di Apple per i prossimi due anni. Infatti, sembra che abbia percepito che il suo ritorno serviràa gestire la transizione verso un misterioso successore: “C’è una qualche transizione, ma non saràannunciata per un po’. Sento che ci saràun’altra persona che però non emergeràsubito”. Di chi staràparlando? Di Phil? Di Tim? Rivolgersi ad una sensitiva per sapere cosa succederàpuò sembrare stupido (anche se negli States spesso lavorano anche con la polizia), ma certo non può fare più danni di qualsiasi giornalista che si metta a fare speculazioni. Speriamo davvero che si sbagli, quanto meno sul fatto che i problemi di salute non sarebbero del tutto risolti. Se volete leggere la sua predizione completa, cliccate qui. [...]
Sul ritorno di Steve Jobs parla una sensitiva - Gizmodo IT - Il gadget weblog, on May 18th, 2009 at 4:42 am
she lieing, lie and lie everywhere!!11
Isterik, on May 18th, 2009 at 6:57 am
[...] igual que muchos de nosotros, el blogger Leander Kahney de Cult of Mac se preguntaba cuando estarÃÂa Steve jobs de regreso al mando en Apple, en busca de algún tipo de [...]
PsÃÂquica dice: "Steve Jobs volverá, pero no por mucho tiempo" | Applediario, on May 19th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Let’s see now ….
Some douchebag, humanityhating *cunt* that takes advantage of people’s shortcomings — lonliness, not having a lot of money, not able to travel extensively, etc., etc. — for profit, is a “go to” source for Steve Jobs news ?!?
Like “Star Trek”, I’m just gonna pretend this topic never happened.
CaryMG, on May 19th, 2009 at 10:17 am
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arabadabi, on May 20th, 2009 at 9:13 am